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Thursday, September 3, 2009

This week's Around the State had business announcements from a broad mix of companies. For instance, there were a couple pieces of wine-related news in Southern Oregon:

· The Southern Oregon Sales packing house in Medford opened last month, employing 50 people. The facility was formerly only a pear-packing house but now houses 7,000 cases of wine in cold storage. A second room is being remodeled to double wine storage capacity. Medford Mail Tribune, 9-3-09

· The Lithia Springs Resort in Ashland will begin work this fall on a multi-million dollar expansion. Plans call for adding 12 cottage-style rooms and adding a barn-style wine tasting center that will feature selections from Oregon wineries. Medford Mail Tribune, 8-31-09

But that's not all! There were also announcements related to renewable energy from a couple of areas in Oregon:

· ReVolt Technology LLC, a Swiss company developing a rechargeable zinc battery technology for electric vehicles, will locate its U.S. headquarters in Portland. It hopes to be operating by December 1 and initially employ 75 while in development stages and 250 once it reaches pilot and production phases. Portland Business Journal, 9-1-09

· Energy companies operating three Eastern Oregon wind farms were awarded more than $140 million in federal grants in a fast-track process that saw their applications submitted and approved in 30 days. The grants will offset the cost of building Horizon Wind Energy's Wheat Field wind farm in Arlington and Iberdrola Renewables's Pebble Springs and Hay Canyon wind farms in Arlington and Moro. The Oregonian, 9-1-09

Plus there were several announcements about new stores and places to eat.

Unfortunately, at least central and eastern Oregon also had some bad news:

· The Wellness Clinic in Roseburg closed. Three of the four doctors have moved on to other positions, while four employees will lose their jobs. The News-Review, 8-23-09

· Staff and faculty members at Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls will be taking salary cuts equal to one day of pay per month to save about $2 million for the 2009-10 fiscal year. Herald and News, 9-2-09

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